Breathless and whispering through the phone, a 13-year-old student called for help from her Ohio high school.

"Help," she said in between whimpers. "He's got a gun. He's got the gun in my mouth."

Anxiety was already running high: It had been only a week after the deadly shooting in Parkland, Fla. Police dispatchers then got three other calls from Withrow University High School in Cincinnati.

But it was all a hoax.

It's a stunt that other teens and kids across the nation have pulled after tragedies, creating fear in communities and bringing costly investigations by police and federal agents who have no choice but to take the threats with deadly seriousness.

The rise in threats after a high-profile mass killing is nothing new. But the incidents are hard to quantify because they are not tracked nationally by any government agency.

A review by USA TODAY of published accounts, however, paints a clear picture of a growing problem that is no joke.

More than 130 threats were reported and analyzed by the USA TODAY NETWORK in the nine-day span after the Valentine's Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland left 17 dead. Also, non-profits such as the Educator's School Safety Network have compiled a list of the threats using news media reports. The group found that a jarring 638 threats targeted schools in the two weeks after the Parkland shootings, a number they say is probably on the low side.

Following the deadly Florida rampage, panic swept schools from Maine to California, leading to lockdowns, school closures and deployment of bomb-sniffing dogs.

The dramatic rise in threats — from 10 to about 70 a day — has left school administrators and authorities walking a fine line in dealing with a threat's credibility. It's also worried parents who fear sending their children to school and shined a spotlight on the legal debate over what penalties kids should face.

At the root of the problem, experts say, are students who are too young to realize the severity of their comments.

"There are usually two common traits in these individuals," said Mary Ellen O'Toole, a former FBI profiler. "They're young, and their judgment is poor. I mean, a brain isn't really fully formed until your early 20s. Then, it's also people who want to be disruptive and affect how the school is operating."

CLOSE

Police arrested a 13-year-old student after multiple 911 calls prompted a lockdown of Withrow High School on Feb. 22, 2018. Audio provided by the Cincinnati Police Department.
The Enquirer/Cameron Knight

Texas, with 55 reports, was the state with the most threats since the shooting. Next in line are Ohio, California, Florida and Pennsylvania, according to data from the Educator's School Safety Network, which not only tracks such incidents but also trains schools on how to handle them.

Because of the threats, at least 33 schools closed and more than 15 others locked down, according to a review of the incidents reported across the USA TODAY Network, which encompasses more than 100 news organizations nationwide.

Some threats were real and law enforcement was able to thwart the plot before it came to fruition, but the larger number of the scares weren't credible, meaning the person suspected of making the comments wasn't planning to harm others and didn't have access to weapons.

"It's not funny, and I think this should end," said Bailey Campbell, a student at Central York High School in Pennsylvania. "I want to go back to school, and I want to finish my senior year."

Her high school, along with others in the region, was closed for three days because of a threat sent by a middle school student. Authorities say the student made the threats simply because she didn't want to go to school.

Seeing closures like that in Pennsylvania gives a student a sense of power, O'Toole said, which for a kid is huge.

Before taking intense action, it's important to track the threat and see whether the person behind it even has the means to act, she added. If a threat doesn't result in some effect on a school, a student feels like they failed, thus discouraging the behavior.

Most reported threats aren't followed by shootings or attacks.

Authorities have been going back and forth about how to deal with these threats. On one hand, an arrest could leave a scar on a student's future. But the threats might cease if a hard approach is taken.

Even with jail as a penalty, threats have been prevalent for decades and show no signs of stopping. After the massacre at Columbine High School in 1999, hundreds of threats were sent to schools across the country, leading to more than 350 arrests.

Broward County has been under the microscope since the shooting, and the news media and lawmakers have scrutinized a nationwide program in schools that aims to keep students from serving jail time for minor offenses. The school gunman, Nikolas Cruz, was not part of the program, but some have criticized it, including Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who said it delays and discourages law enforcement from being alerted to dangerous students.

Amanda Klinger, director of operations for the Educator's School Safety Network, said the threats, along with violence and issues in schools, could be dampened with a few measures. Chief among them would be schools communicating with students about the severity of threats and parents reinforcing the message at home.

"Everyone knows you don't say 'bomb' in an airport. We have to get to that point with kids on this issue," she said. "We need to make it clear that this isn't OK, and it is incredibly serious."

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A police officer helps direct traffic as Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students begin arriving for their first day of school since the shooting on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018 in Parkland, Fla. ANDREA MELENDEZ/USA TODAY NETWORK

Police officers line up outside of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School to welcome the students back to on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018. This is the official first day of school since the shooting on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018, in Parkland, Fla. ANDREA MELENDEZ/ USA TODAY NETWORK

Returning faculty and administration at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Fla., are taken on a walk around the fenced-off freshman building where the Feb. 16, shooting took place, Monday, Feb. 26, 2018. Today marked the first day back for teachers at the school. JOE CAVARETTA, AP

A small group of parents and neighbors welcome returning faculty and administrators at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Fla., Monday, Feb. 26, 2018. Today marked the first day back for teachers at the school. JOE CAVARETTA, AP

Mourners leave the funeral of Peter Wang, 15, who was a JROTC cadet, at Kraeer Funeral home on Feb. 20, 2018 in Coral Springs, Florida. Wang was killed in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School along with 16 other people. Joe Raedle, Getty Images

Alex Wang holds a picture of his brother, Peter Wang, a victim in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, after his brother's funeral on Feb. 20, 2018, at Kraeer Funeral Home in Coral Springs, Fla. Taimy Alvarez, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, via AP

Tyra Hemans, 19, who survived the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School, waits to board a bus in Parkland, Fla., Feb. 20, 2018. The students plan to hold a rally Wednesday in hopes that it will put pressure on the state's Republican-controlled Legislature to consider a sweeping package of gun-control laws, something some GOP lawmakers said Monday they would consider. Gerald Herbert, AP

Students who survived the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School,along with survivors of the Pulse nightclub shooting, cheer before the students board a bus in Parkland, Fla. on Feb. 20, 2018, to rally outside the state capitol and talk to legislators about gun control reform. Gerald Herbert, AP

Sheryl Acquarola, a 16-year-old junior from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is overcome with emotion in the east gallery of the House of Representatives after the representatives voted not to hear a bill banning assault rifles and large capacity magazines. Acquarola was one of the survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that left 17 dead, who were in Tallahassee on Feb. 20, 2018 to meet with Florida lawmakers. Mark Wallheiser, AP

Survivors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and other students from Broward County, Fla. high schools listen to Sen. Bobby Powell in his office at the Florida Capital in Tallahassee, Fla., Feb 20, 2018. Mark Wallheiser, AP

Rep. Bobby DuBose thanks the survivors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and other students from Broward County, Fla. high schools for coming to see him at the Florida Capital in Tallahassee, Fla., Feb 20, 2018. Mark Wallheiser, AP

People visit a makeshift memorial in front of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 19, 2018 in Parkland, Fla. Police arrested and charged 19 year old former student Nikolas Cruz for the February 14 shooting that killed 17 people. Joe Raedle, Getty Images

Ashley Boul, right, and Joel Robinson, who is an alumni of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, visit a makeshift memorial in front of the school on Feb. 19, 2018 in Parkland, Fla. Joe Raedle, Getty Images

Max Bromberg hugs his brother Samuel Bromberg, both of whom graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, as they visit a makeshift memorial in front of the school on Feb. 19, 2018 in Parkland, Fla. Joe Raedle, Getty Images

Cindy Sotelo, right, cries with her daughter, Jessica Malone, an alumna of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, as they visit a makeshift memorial in front of the school on Feb. 19, 2018 in Parkland, Fla. Joe Raedle, Getty Images

Sara Smith, left, and her daughter Karina Smith visit a makeshift memorial on Feb. 19, 2018 outside the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 students and faculty were killed in a mass shooting on Wednesday, in Parkland, Fla. Gerald Herbert, AP

Camila Valladares, 9, and brother Miguel Piacquadio, 25, light a candle at a memorial outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 18, 2018, in response to a shooting at the high school Wednesday that took 17 lives. Dorothy Edwards, Naples Daily News, via USA TODAY NETWORK

People visit a makeshift memorial outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 18, 2108, where 17 students and faculty were killed in Wednesday's mass shooting in Parkland, Fla. Gerald Herbert, AP

Pall bearers carry the casket of Scott Beigel after his funeral in Boca Raton, Fla., on Feb. 18, 2018. Beigel, a teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, was killed along with 16 others in a mass shooting at the school on Wednesday. Nikolas Cruz, a former student, was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. Gerald Herbert, AP

Bryan and Amber Gruzenksy place flowers on crosses with their son Joshua, 14, outside the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 18, 2018, where 17 people were killed in a mass shooting on Wednesday. Gerald Herbert, AP

Hadley Sorensen, 16, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, is comforted by her mother Stacy Sorensen at a makeshift memorial outside the school in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 18, 2018. Gerald Herbert, AP

Isabella Vanderlaat, 15, and Gabriella Benzeken 15, both students of Scott Beigel, the 35-year-old geography teacher who was killed during the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shootings, attend the funeral service at Temple Beth El in Boca Raton, Fla., on Feb. 18, 2018. Charles Trainor Jr, Miami Herald, via AP

Emma Gonzalez, 18, a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, cries as she hugs a supporter of the #NeverAgain movement at North Community Park on Feb. 18, 2018. Gonzalez became a viral sensation after videos of her impassioned speech at an anti-gun rally in Fort Lauderdale flooded social media. Nicole Raucheisen, Naples Daily News, via USA TODAY NETWORK

Flowers are placed near unretrieved bicycles outside the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 18, 2018, where 17 people were killed in a mass shooting. Authorities opened the streets around the school, which had been closed since the shootings. Nikolas Cruz, a former student, was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. Gerald Herbert, AP

Mourners arrive at the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Coral Springs at Heron Bay in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 18, 2018, for the funeral service of Alex Schachter, 14, who was one of the 17 victims of the Parkland mass shooting. Matias J. Ocner, Miami Herald, via AP

Mimi Milton receives a hug after a church service dedicated to the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting, at the First Church of Coral Springs, on Feb. 18, 2018, in Coral Springs, Fla. Mark Wilson, Getty Images

Donna Biederman, bottom right, gets emotional while listening to speeches during a gun control rally in front of the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Feb. 17, 2018. Students, community members, elected officials and gun control advocates gathered together to call for common sense gun laws and firearm safety legislation in the wake of the school shooting that left 17 people dead and 15 others injured this past Wednesday in Parkland, Fla. Nicole Raucheisen, Naples Daily News via USA TODAY NETWORK

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Emma Gonzalez reacts during her speech at a rally for gun control at the Broward County Federal Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on February 17, 2018.
A student survivor of the Parkland school shooting called out President Donald Trump on Saturday over his ties to the powerful National Rifle Association, in a poignant address to an anti-gun rally in Florida. "To every politician taking donations from the NRA, shame on you!" said Emma Gonzalez, assailing Trump over the multi-million-dollar support his campaign received from the gun lobby -- and prompting the crowd to chant in turn: 'Shame on you!' Rhona Wise, AFP/Getty Images

Alessandra Mondolfi wears statement jewelry, which she designed and created herself, during a gun control rally in front of the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Feb. 17, 2018. Nicole Raucheisen, Naples Daily News via USA TODAY NETWORK

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Cameron Kasky speaks at a rally for gun control at the Broward County Federal Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Feb. 17, 2018. Rhona Wise, AFP/Getty Images

The soccer teammates of Alyssa Alhadeff listen to the live stream of her mother as she speaks about her daughter and gun violence. Alyssa Alhadeff, 15, was one of the 17 victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland,Fla. The practice at Pines Trail Park offers an outlet for the team, said Laurie Thomas, coach of the Parkland Soccer Club. Andrew West, The News-Press via USA TODAY Network

Sad scenes of remembrances are still playing out at the Parkland amphitheater on Feb. 17, 2018. Crosses have been set up to honor those killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. Andrew West, The News-Press via USA TODAY Network

Thilaka Sritharan (L) whose daughter was in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when 17 people were killed is hugged by Lauren Duck during a protest against guns on Feb. 17, 2018 in Parkland, Fla. Joe Raedle, Getty Images

Lisa McCrary-Tokes, a resident of Parkland says a prayer at each of the crosses that were erected at the Parkland, Fl, Amphitheatre on Friday. McCrary-Tokes lost a daughter to gun violence in Ohio last year and another daughter graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last year. "You can't feel safe anywhere in this country," she said. ANDREW WEST, The News-Press via USA TODAY Network

South Broward High School senior Sophia Villiers-Furze, center, protests with her classmates in front of their school on Friday, Feb. 16, 2018 in response to a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. DOROTHY EDWARDS, Naples Daily News via USA TODAY Network

A candlelight vigil draws thousands to the Pine Trails Park amphitheater to mourn a day after a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Mandatory XAVIER MASCARENAS, TCPalm via USA TODAY NETWORK

Zachary Valdes, 13, attends a candlelight vigil with his family at the Pine Trails Park amphitheater to mourn a day after a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Valdes was at neighboring Westglades Middle School when the two campuses went on lockdown. XAVIER MASCARENAS, TCPalm via USA TODAY NETWORK

A candlelight vigil draws thousands to the Pine Trails Park amphitheater to mourn a day after a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. XAVIER MASCARENAS, TCPalm via USA TODAY NETWORK

Brayden Meddaugh, 7, and his mother, Stefanie Mion, both of Deerfield Beach, pay their respects at a small makeshift memorial under the Sawgrass Expressway across from the entrance to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. XAVIER MASCARENAS, Treasure Coast News via USA TODAY NETWORK

Freshman Nyallah Penn cries during a prayer circle after a vigil at Pine Trails Park in Parkland, Fla. on Feb. 15, 2018. The vigil was held after a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Wednesday in Parkland, Fla., that took 17 lives. Dorothy Edwards, Naples Daily News, via USA TODAY NETWORK

Kevin Siegelbaum, a special education teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, leans in to pray on Feb. 15, 2018, in Parkland, Fla., during a community vigil at Pine Trails Park for the victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Brynn Anderson, AP

Marla Eveillard, 14, cries as she hugs friends before the start of a vigil at the Parkland Baptist Church, for the victims of Wednesday's shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. on Feb. 15, 2018. Gerald Herbert, AP

Austin Burden, 17, cries on the shoulder of a friend after a vigil at the Parkland Baptist Church, for the victims of the Wednesday shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Fla. Gerald Herbert, AP

Milan Hamm, right, 17, joins hundreds of community members at a prayer vigil in Parkland, Florida on Feb. 5, 2018. Members of the community gathered for a vigil for the victims of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. GIORGIO VIERA, EPA-EFE

Friends embrace in tears at the Parkridge Church in Coral Springs before the start of a community prayer vigil for Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School shooting victims, Feb. 15, 2018. ERIC HASERT, USA TODAY NETWORK

Emmy Halulko, 13, (left) and her sister Evie, 5, both of Coral Springs stopped to pet Jacob, a Lutheran Church Charities comfort dog while at the Parkridge Church in Coral Springs for a community prayer vigil for all the shooting victims at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School. "Awful" Emmy said about the shooting before breaking down in tears, acknowledging she knew several people at the school, Feb. 15, 2018 Eric Hasert, USA TODAY NETWORK

Kristi Gilroy hugs a young woman at a police check point near the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 17 people were killed by a gunman yesterday, Feb. 15, 2018 in Parkland, Fla. MARK WILSON, GETTY IMAGES

Sheree Spaulding stands with her 15-year-old son, Justin who is a 9th grader at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 17 people were killed by a gunman yesterday, Feb. 15, 2018 in Parkland, Fla. Police arrested the suspect after a short manhunt, and have identified him as 19-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz. MARK WILSON, GETTY IMAGES

Sheree Spaulding walks with her 15-year-old son, Justin Spauling, who is a 9th grader at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 17 people were killed by a gunman yesterday, Feb. 15, 2018 in Parkland, Fla. MARK WILSON, GETTY IMAGES

Police control a road near the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 17 people were killed by a gunman yesterday, Feb. 15, 2018 in Parkland, Fla. Police arrested the suspect after a short manhunt, and have identified him as 19-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz. MARK WILSON, GETTY IMAGES

Kristi Gilroy hugs a young woman as a police officer tries to clear a closed road at a police checkpoint near Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 17 people were killed by a gunman Feb. 15, 2018, in Parkland, Fla. Police arrested the suspect after a short manhunt and have identified him as 19-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz. MARK WILSON, GETTY IMAGES

Max Charles, second from right, 14, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., speaks to members of the media after being picked up by family members at a nearby hotel, in Coral Springs, Fla. A former student opened fire at the Florida high school Wednesday, killing more than a dozen people and sending scores of students fleeing into the streets in the nation's deadliest school shooting since a gunman attacked an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. Wilfredo Lee, AP

People wait outside the main entrance of Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. due to the hospital being on lockdown after a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. Dorothy Edwards, Naples Daily News via USA Today

Sheree Spaulding hugs her son, Justin, 15, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in nearby Parkland, Fla., as she speaks to members of the media after picking up her son at a nearby hotel, Wednesday, in Coral Springs, Fla. Wilfredo Lee, AP

Jorge Zapata,16, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School hugss his mother, Lavinia Zapata, after a mass shooting earlier in the day at the school. “I was just really incredibly, indescribably happy to see him, because you never know,” Lavinia said. XAVIER MASCARENAS, Treasure Coast Newspapers via USA TODAY NETWORK

Dalila Ladero, 16, of Coral Springs, Fla. stands near friends after being reunited with her mother at University Drive and Holmberg Road in Parkland. "When all that happened, I wasn't in my class, I just started following people...I was just seeing everyone screaming and crying and I didn't know what was happening," she said. "I was calm, I just started praying." XAVIER MASCARENAS, Treasure Coast Newspapers via USA Today Network

Trauma surgeon Dr. Igor Nichiporenko (C) and director for emergency medicine Dr. Evan Boyar (R) address the media outside the Broward Health Emergency facility where victims were taken following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, a city about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Miami, Wednesday. MICHELE EVE SANDBERG, AFP/Getty Images

Pointing out the consequences of a joke, whether it is jail time or expulsion, could also help. But school privacy laws keep much out of the public eye.

On average, threats usually continue for about 10-14 days after a major incident, though with social media and the news cycle that could be longer.

Threats after the shooting in Florida have already continued past two weeks and caused panic and confusion in nearly every state. Social media have only worsened the headache as threats now travel quicker and easily spread across state and county lines.

Sometimes even vague posts on social media can lead to panic. A post in January that included photos of guns with a caption reading, "Don’t go to school tomorrow @MHS students" spread across schools with the same initials in Florida, New Jersey, Virginia and Pennsylvania. The post led to school closures before it was found to be a hoax.

After the shooting in Florida, the same Snapchat threat was reported to authorities in several states.

"Social media is really wreaking havoc at this point," said John Scola, the Hanover public school's superintendent in southern Pennsylvania. "There's so many rumors and things flying around from one district to another."

Throughout Pennsylvania, at least 32 threats were reported. They have resulted in closures, lockdowns, bomb-sniffing dogs and extra officers on campus.

Such changes can have a psychological effect on students and school administrators, said Kenneth Trump, who heads the National School Safety and Security Services, a school-safety consulting firm. Anxiety is already high after witnessing a tragedy such as Parkland because they think it could happen to them, he said.

"It doesn't matter where something is happening," Trump said — teachers and students still "feel like it's in their backyard."

Schools aren't the only ones feeling the effects of these threats. The increase after the Florida shooting has law enforcement agencies across the U.S. strapped, going to school after school to decipher whether there is any real threat to children seeking an education.

"If this is the new normal, I’m going to need about two more investigators just to do this," said John Hall, a chief deputy for the Lee County Sheriff's Department in Mississippi. "The world doesn't stop turning. I guarantee you, I’m preaching to the choir of other law enforcement agencies because they're thinking the same thing.”

Many schools are guilty of overreacting to threats because of the fear and worry from parents that accompany them.

Schools have to juggle student safety and the risk of falling to pranks. Many experts say the shooting in Florida is an opportunity for schools to review how they assess threats and their plan for any emergency situation. It's a chance to make sure the infrastructure is in place to properly assess an incident and communicate news to the public before rumors spread like wildfire.

"It's easy for (schools) to have a knee-jerk reaction like evacuations," Trump said. "They need to assess then react, not the other way around."